Using Standards to Improve Disinfectant Efficacy Testing

ASTM International committee E35 (Pesticides, Antimicrobials, and Alternative Control Agents), subcommittee E35.15 (Antimicrobial Agents)

EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Microbiology Laboratory Branch within the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) actively participates with ASTM International Committee E35 and Subcommittee E35.15 to develop new and revise existing standard methods for disinfectant efficacy testing (e.g., towelette testing, laundry sanitizers, virology testing) and to advance relevant research in these areas. As of FY2020 there are twelve ASTM standards that pertain to OPP’s regulatory guidance, including to the Series 810 - Product Performance Test Guidelines, which are generally intended to meet testing requirements for the effectiveness of pesticide products under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). EPA staff serve as the technical contacts for five of these ASTM standards. Within the ASTM standards development process, technical contacts play an important role that may include serving as the primary author of a new or revised standard, addressing technical questions about the standard from the public, etc.